Some Tid-Bits About Time

Hey ladies! Was just doing my morning devotions & thought you'd enjoy some snip-it's from what I've been learning this morning:

Today's Truth
Psalm 90:12 "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom" (NLT).

Friend To Friend
Every minute of every day is either wasted or invested. Since the Bible contains over 400 verses about time, we can safely assume that time management is important to God. In fact, it is a spiritual discipline. We not only need to view time as an eternal investment, but as an immediate one as well. One of the most valuable investments we can make is to spend time in solitude.

At the age of 12, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with his parents for the annual Passover Celebration. When his parents began the long trip home, they did not miss their son at first and when they did, assumed he was traveling with friends. Jesus was found in the temple, teaching. My first reaction would probably have been pride in the fact that religious scholars and teachers were actually listening to my young son. I would most likely have encouraged Jesus to continue, basking in the looming recognition and acclaim. Instead, Jesus returned home where, for 18 to 20 years, he simply grew. Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. In Luke 3, Jesus begins his ministry, the most powerful ministry ever known. In other words, Jesus Christ budgeted his time wisely, resulting in a balanced life of fulfilled purpose. We can live the same kind of life if our priorities are right.

Set priorities: Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that "there is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven" (NLT). We either set our life priorities or allow circumstances and other people to set them.

Schedule priorities: There is a right time and a right way to carry out right priorities. Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 warns, "For a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight" (NASB). We must schedule time for solitude. We must set aside portions of each day to spend with God.

Stick to priorities: The apostle Paul teaches us to "make the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16 NIV). Every challenge will either wreck our priorities or affirm them. Right priorities stand firm in the face of change.

One day, we will all stand before the Father and give an account of how we invested our time. Today, examine your time management habits in light of eternity. Initiate schedule changes that honor God. Make a new commitment to invest your time wisely.

Much Love,
Susan

The Right 'Yes!'

Hello loves! I only have a few minutes, but I just had to share with you what God has been laying on my heart for the past week or so - and how He ever so slightly (or abruptly rather!) nudged me with it again today :)

So I have really been praying about my schedule and just how much time I am pouring into the things that I do - and in speaking to the 7th - 8th and 9th - 12th graders this past Sunday, God totally put it on my heart to start giving some things up...

My life has been so FULL lately, but when I sit down and go over the things that I do, I'm not sure that it has been full of the right things - all good things... but not the RIGHT things.

So my challenge has been to put an ear out for exactly what it is that GOD wants me to be doing, not what everyone in the world wants... only God.

I have to go for now. I'll add some more to this thought soon, but I just wanted to put a bug in your ear about asking God what it is that HE wants you to fill your day up with?

All My Love,
Susan

All Done :)

Well, I am sitting in my office at 3:28 AM, while 40 high school girls and 20 adult women are passed out throughout our church. We had an amazing night of praising God with each other and really experiencing some great fellowship.

When my husband was little and he would finish a homework assignment or something would be over - his mom would always say to him "all done". And it has stuck with him throughout his life because to this day, when we finish something he looks at me and says "all done", with a big smile on his face.

Well, right now I'm sure he is sound asleep at home, but here I sit... admiring the work God has done through everyone tonight, and all I can hear my Creator say is "All Done". It is such a good feeling to know that you did what God wanted... thank you LORD for being my strength through this process and for loving me the way that You do!

Much Love,
Susan

Be Still...

Hey Ladies :)

So this weekend has basically kicked my butt - and it's not over yet!

On Friday we had our middle school dodge ball tournament.
Yesterday we had MSM small group night.
And we kicked off today with MSM and HSM Sunday worship, a chicken BBQ fundraiser for our HSM students, and the start of our Financial Peace University for students... and later tonight we have our HSM small group night.

It dawned on me within all the chaos of this morning that my heart was not worshiping God in what I was doing. It is then my loves, and not a moment later, that we (and believe you me I did!) must get on our knees, ask for forgiveness, and praise God in the moment. When we invite Him into every detail of our lives - we are bound by grace and reassured with love.

Let me encourage you today to invite Him into every detail of your day-week-month-life!

Much Love,
Susan

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
~Psalm 46:10

Girl-World

Hey loves!

I am so tired but I just had to share with you an amazing story I heard tonight!!

So tonight was our Middle School Ministry small group night where all the middle schoolers who are currently in a small group get together and have a night of learning with their leaders... Anywho, we were only a few minutes into the night when one of our young leaders approached me about our Beloved event that we have coming up in two weeks - and she proceeded to tell me about two different girls in her life that had asked her about the event and who she believes will REALLY benefit from a night of all-girls getting together and learning about how we are wired. So needless to say I freaked out a little... just a little :)

Then, during that same conversation, I had another of our leaders come up to me and ask about the event because she had two girls on her heart that had asked about it and she wants to get them plugged in!!! How good is God?!

It's no lie that I have had some serious stress over this event - but God is teaching me that growing always has somes pains... but will have a HUGE payoff in the end!!!

Ladies - I am so excited about what God is going to do through this 'Beloved' weekend and I CANNOT wait to see how God shows up and uses everyone there - He never dissappoints!




LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
-Susan

Beloved

Hello Ladies!

Wow I can't believe how long it has been! I have missed you so much - if I could reach across cyber space and hug you I totally would :)

I was blessed this past weekend to be able to attend Beth Moore's 'So Long Insecurity' simulcast with 300,000 other women, and words cannot describe how God worked in my heart through this experience! It was great to be in that atmosphere with other women learning the neatest things about God... and I was given complete peace about an upcoming all-girls event we are having at NewPointe called 'Beloved'. Being with those women of allllll different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds was incredible and I found myself looking around and thinking of how much every woman needs that - a circle of other Christian women who will be there to support and lift each other up.

And then I started to think about how much I needed that in middle school and high school, and how the girls of this generation have such a great opportunity in front of them - an opportunity to see each other as a support structure instead of competition.

So please be in prayer over 'Beloved'! The event being on May 14th at 6:00pm at NewPointe and ends at 8:30am the next morning :) It's going to be a blast - and we're praying that God just floods it with His love & anointing!!!

Again, I love you girls! And the blogging is back!

Much Love,
Susan

A Little Insight

Hey Gang! I know it's been forever... and I SO apologize for that!

OK... moving on... haha

I found this in a book our High School Ministry (HSM) is doing for small groups and I just had to show it to you...

Today's Treasure: Acts 17:16-34

"At the time Paul entered Athens, the Greeks worshipped as many as thirty thousand gods and goddesses. They were man-made gods but were taken very seriously. They would erect statues and monuments and altars to these made-up gods. The streets were lined with them; they were in every niche, in every window, and at every doorstep. It had been said that it was easier to find a god than a man. They erected statues, carved idols, and created altars for every god they knew so as not to anger any of them. They were so afraid of angering a god that they erected a statue to "the Unknown God" in case they missed one.

Within the population of Athens there were those who lived in two major philosophies: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans were consumed with a lifestyle of indulgence, with their main objective in life being pleasure. They believed there was no afterlife and therefore they lived their life in pursuit of pleasures - an 'eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die' attitude. The Epicureans believed the gods to be material but thought the gods were too busy being blessed and happy to be bothered with governance of the universe.

Stoics considered themselves as good as God. God was in everything - rocks, trees, the oceans, birds, every living and non-living thing. The Stoic god is immanent throughout the whole of creation and directed it's development down to the smallest detail. Those who lived according to this philosophy tended not to believe anything and wre dead to feelings and emotions.

The only thing these two philosophies agreed on was that paul's teaching was abhorrent to thier lifestyle and customs. They considered Paul to be a babbler with no real thought or understanding of his own. Paul spoke of jesus and a resurrection. The Greek word for 'resurrection' is anastasis and the word sounded like a female name. It is possible when Paul talked about Jesus and the resurrection in the marketplace, people thought that he was talking about some new god and goddess, Jesus and Anastasis. While Athens was full of religions, a law prohibited the introduction on new foreign gods. So Paul was summoned before the city council to explain himself. This was not a formal trial. There does not seem to be a formal change, a legal defense, or a verdict. This was most likely an inquiry to determine if laws had been broken." - Liquid; five episodes, one story


I read that the other day and almost fell over at the smackdown I got from God. And I think the part that hit me the most is that they mistook God's resurrection as a female goddess... and how the Greek word for LOVE sounds like a female's name.

Ladies, we have been blessed with the ability to LOVE.... to LOVE like never before - let's go out and show it!




I LOVE YOU ALL!
~Susan Elaine